The news Expanded Universe fans have been waiting for since Disney bought Lucasfilm has finally arrived. In a statement today on StarWars.com, Lucasfilm has officially announced that Episodes VII, VIII and IX will not be adhering to the existing post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe.

This doesn’t mean that we won’t see familiar Expanded Universe elements in the future though. In the announcement, and the accompanying video tribute to the EU, it’s mentioned once again that the EU will continue to be a source of inspiration for future projects, and elements like Sienar Fleet Systems can and will make appearances.

Existing Expanded Universe novels won’t be going out of print in the near future either. They’ll be will be rebranded under a “Legends” banner. What isn’t totally clear at this point is if all existing EU material will be rebranded this way, or just post-Return of the Jedi material. UPDATE – LucasBooks editor Jennifer Heddle has confirmed that pre-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe material will also fall under the new Legends banner.

Additionally, the “New Dawn” teaser from this morning has been revealed to be the first novel in this new era of the Expanded Universe. Star Wars: A New Dawn will be written by John Jackson Miller, and take place prior to the events of the upcoming Rebels television show. Input from the producers of the show and the Lucasfilm story group aided in the development of the group.

Speaking of the story group, their role in the future of the Star Wars franchise moving forward was also detailed as part of today’s announcement. Check out that information, and see many Star Wars VIP’s feelings about the Expanded Universe in the video below.

About the Author

Brian joined EUCantina in 2012 as a news reporter. He saw the Original Trilogy when he was so young that he can’t even remember the first time he saw them. His earliest EU memory is listening to audio books of the Jedi Academy trilogy with his family, and since then he has gotten his hands on as much EU material as he can, loving the novels, comics and video games.